A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

Things have been very busy! Here's a glimpse at a few odd and end things that have been going on:
- The church held a leadership conference for everyone who works in a ministry within the church. Much competition ensued between each group over who could be the most exuberant!
- I (Tona) took an art class with Alex. My creation was a tray. I'm now done with art class!! Alex had two incredible creations. One is being finished and the other is posted on our website. (Corey is the keeper of the photos and I'm not sure where it disappeared to!)
- Maggie has found a new passion for reading The Word and especially learning about Stephen. She shared her insights with her dog!
- Alex and Maggie are both in a great cooking phase! They've been making waffles, pancakes, french toast, empanadas and on this very delicious evening...crepes with strawberries, bananas and chocolate sauce!! YUMMY!!
- The dogs are doing well...and are incredibly tolerant of all the kids do to them!
- The kids had Día Del Idioma (Language Day) at school where Maggie did a skit on Colombian culture and Alex sang "Colombia Es Pasión" with his class.
- Alex recently found out he has the Martinez eyes and got to pick out some new spectacles.
- Maggie has learned a new way of knitting with her hands and has made a whole collection. Oops...guess everyone knows what they're getting for Christmas!!

And that's a wrap up of some of the odd and ends going on. Check out the kids blog - http://kautzkids.blogspot.com - to see more about what they've been up to.
~Tona

So Precious!

Here's just a few of the many wonderful LACC kids! To sponsor a child, please visit www.lacc4hope.org and choose Colombia as your country selection on the left-hand side of the screen!
~Tona

A Visit From The Church At Chapel Hill

The Church at Chapel Hill from Douglasville, Georgia came down for a week of work! Corey helped with half of the team who spent the week working on construction of the new school for Liceo Nueva Vida. The other half of the team spent the week in schools doing evangelism. The pictures above are from their day at Liceo Nueva Vida. The kids did a presentation for them with songs, Colombian dances and lots of enthusiasm! The team, in turn, did skits, songs and object lessons. Of course the kids went crazy for all the attention!!

We'd like to personally give the group a great big thanks not only for bringing down the school supplies, but for taking back a bunch of our belongings to the States. As our furlough approaches, this was a HUGE help!!! You all were awesome! Thanks a ton!

~Tona

When just a cup of water isn't enough...

LACC ran a campaign to raise school supplies for the students and we want to thank so many people who took part in this campaign. It's always great to see a collaborative effort come together! For these school supplies it began with Josi, who visited her sponsored child here in Colombia and went home on fire to help him and the school however she could. When this campaign was announced, she took the ball and ran with it! Together with other sponsors, friends from work, church and family, they were able to put together 280 packets!

Shipping to Colombia is not an easy task, so when the Church at Chapel Hill from Douglasville, Georgia planned a trip to come down, they were more than generous in agreeing to bring down the boxes of supplies. Once in Colombia, they helped sort and prepare the packets, added to them and then handed them out to the kids.

Without each and every person's participation this never could have happened! Thank you so much to everyone who played a part in the completion of this project. The kids were overjoyed! They rarely receive gifts and they were ecstatic to receive so many utensils for school!

The school was also blessed with balls and extra supplies. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity in showing love to the students of Liceo Nueva Vida!
~Tona

Angie's Easter

We have wonderful sponsors for the children in Colombia! This is one example of a very blessed little girl! Angie is one of 10 children. Seven of the kids, along with mom, live in a tiny house on the side of the mountain. To say they are needy is an incredible understatement! Angie's sponsors, Brian and Deb, wanted to send her a gift for Easter. Her mother said, "They have been so wonderful and sent so many wonderful gifts to her, but what she really needs are things to take care of herself - soap, shampoo, underwear...a blanket. It's really cold in our house." There are two beds for nine people! They day I took the gift to Angie she was thrilled! She was so excited about the shampoo and soap and, yes, even the underwear! She received a giant warm blanket. I spoke to her a couple of days later and asked if she was using her gifts. She wanted me to smell her hair to see how good it smelled. It's amazing what may be simple to us can bring overwhelming joy to a child! Thank you, Brian and Deb, and all of the sponsors who so lovingly write letters, send birthday gifts, and most of all sponsor monthly these beloved children.

If you'd like to sponsor a child, please go to www.lacc4hope.org and choose Colombia in the menu on the left. You, too, can make a big difference in a child's life!
~Tona

Willy's Wedding

We recently attended our first Colombian wedding. We left the house early for the 2pm service, but when we got near the chapel we were almost a half an hour early, so we decided to stop in a nearby store and waste some time. Now we often face the Latin time schedules where one time really means another, but since this was a wedding and the invitation said "2pm on the dot" we made sure we left the store to get there on time. As we pulled up we realized we were pushing it a bit and we'd need to book it up the four stories of stairs to make it on time. The kids and I took off to get seats while Corey parked the car. Imagine our surprise when we walked into the chapel and we were the first guests!! The caterers were just beginning to put out the cakes and there were a few ladies that were working on covering the chairs. The groom was strolling around checking on everything. We laughed at ourselves for rushing and decided to help cover chairs. Within about 15 minutes or so the minister strolled in. After 45 minutes a couple of people straggled in and we were worrying that they had a whole lot of chairs for just a few people. Fifty minutes after the start time a load of people came in - all at the same time! I wondered if we had missed the memo! It seemed all the guests came in at the same time and within just a couple of minutes the bride was on her way down the aisle! There were similarities and differences between their ceremony and an American ceremony, but at the end a bunch of people told me their ceremony was very uncustomary so I guess we'll be waiting for the next one to see what is considered "normal". It was beautiful nonetheless and our dear friend, Willy, is now a very happy husband!
~Tona